China apologises as toxic slick heads for Russian waters

A toxic slick from a Chinese plant explosion has picked up speed toward Russia and is due to cross the border in about three days, Alexander Gavrilov, the head of the Russian Far East Meteorological Service, said today.

The water polluted with benzene and other chemicals is currently moving about 20 miles a day, compared with a rate of about 15 miles recently, he said.

He attributed the acceleration to China’s release of water from reservoirs into the Songhua River.

Gavrilov told emergency officials in Khabarovsk, the first large Russian city on the Amur River, that tests show the city won’t have to cut off water supplies because the toxic substances have been diluted.

The spill is currently expected to hit Khabarovsk around December 21, he said. Russian news agencies reported that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao apologised to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the spill at a meeting on the margins of the Malaysia summit between Russia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.